Page 58 of Regret

Later that afternoon, while Hunter waited outside Blue’s house by the huge-ass wall, he kept on tossing the box with the charm from one hand to the other. A twenty-dollar gift wasn’t exactly something a man gave a woman like Blue. She deserved gifts and spoils that exceeded his weekly wage. She deserved so much more than he could give her. Giving her this piece of junk would be a slap in the face…and he was not going to give it to her. Ever.

Just as he was about to shove the box into his jacket pocket, Blue stepped up next to him.

“What is that?”

Fuck.

“It’s nothing.” He was so nervous and annoyed with himself that he wanted to throw the damn box as far as possible. But Blue grabbed it out of his hand and sprinted a few feet away from him. “Wait.”

“I want to see.”

“Blue, no.”

“Why not? Is it not for me?” A warm smile spread along her angelic face and Hunter wished to God he had something platinum or gold inside that box for her and not some useless, worthless piece of shit.

“Blue, it’s stupid, okay? Just give it back.”

“So you did buy it for me?” Her fingers toyed with the box like she was about to rip it open.

Hunter sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, something he did whenever he was nervous or annoyed. He was definitely nervous. “Yeah, I bought it for you. But it’s—”

She tore through the paper and opened the box. Hunter’s heart stopped and his lungs no longer expanded.

Dear God, she was going to hate it and she was going to yell at him and tell him to find a lowlife whore who liked junk like that.

“Hunter—”

“I know. It’s terrible, and I’m sorry. I just saw it and it somehow made me think of you. Not that I think you’re as worthless as that thing. Far from it. I just, I don’t know what I was thinking.” He was rambling like a fucking idiot.

“It’s the Celtic symbol of eternal love,” she whispered as she took the charm out of the box and examined it more closely.

“Blue, forget it, please. I’ll save up, and I promise I’ll buy you something better, something—”

“I love it.”

Hunter balked. “You what?”

“I love it.” She looked up at him with those sapphire eyes that beamed with, what? Joy? Excitement? Love?

“You don’t have to say—”

His breath left him with a loud swoosh as she jumped up against him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“I love it, Hunter,” she said against his ear, her voice sending a warmth down his spine and straight back up to his chest, right where his heart was. “I love you.”

When those words left her mouth, Hunter no longer had the capacity to breathe. Everything around them froze and all he could hear, see, and feel was those words she had just said. His entire world shifted right at that moment, as if everything had finally aligned the way it should. Him…her…them, nothing else mattered.

She unwrapped her arms around his neck and stepped back, a flush of embarrassment on her cheeks. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. It’s too early—”

Fuck that.

He rushed forward and pulled her into his arms, crashing his lips against hers. He kissed her like he had never kissed anyone before in his entire life. His heart and soul got poured into that kiss, and he prayed to God she could feel every ounce of love he had for her through that one simple act. It felt like his heart finally found a reason to keep on beating, as if his soul had found what it had been looking for all these years.

When he tightened his hold around her waist, a moan echoed in the back of her throat and it was like a fucking symphony to his ears. He had never felt so whole in his entire life. This woman filled him in ways he never thought anyone could. All the emptiness he carried around with him through the years had been filled with three little words. Words he knew would change him forever.

When he finally managed to tear his lips away from hers, both of them panting with the need for more, he whispered, “I love you too, Blue. I love you so much it hurts.”

A tiny smile crept up at the corners of her mouth as she pulled the chain over her head. She stared down at the symbol hanging down between her breasts. “I’ll never take it off. I will always keep it close to my heart.” She looked up at him. “I’ll always keep you close to my heart, Hunter.”

And that was the moment Hunter knew he had found his eternal love. His angel. The beauty he would never let go of.

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